Yves Saint Laurent

Saint Laurent, Yves

(ēv săN lôräN`), 1936–2008, French fashion designer, b. Oran, Algeria, as Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent. Moving to Paris at 17, he ultimately established houses of couture and boutiques there and in New York. He was the foremost assistant to Christian DiorDior, Christian, 1905–57, French fashion designer. He established his main house of couture in Paris (1946) and by 1958 had salons in 15 countries employing more than 2,000 people......Click the link for more information. and became his designated successor as head of the House of Dior at the age of 21. His early collections were noted for their maverick quality, and his work of the 1960s and 70s helped to democratize the world of fashion. His last Dior collection (1960) featured the "chic beatnik" look: knitted turtlenecks, thigh-length boots, and short black leather jackets. He opened his own Paris house in 1961, in partnership with Pierre Bergé (1930–2017); Bergé, Saint Laurent's romantic partner until the 1980s, ran much of the business end of the house until it closed. In the following years Saint Laurent revolutionized the fashion world by creating trousers for day and evening wear and broad-shouldered suits that were images of power for women. His other designs include sophisticated tweed suits, the Mondrian dress, pleated skirts, safari jackets, pea coats, updated peasant costumes, le smoking (tuxedos for women), and heavy costume jewelry. His focus on an androgynous look was extremely influential in the fashion of the 1970s. He also designed for the Ballets de Roland Petit. By the mid-1970s, at the height of his success, his design empire included sweaters, neckties, eyeglass cases, linens, children's clothes, and fragrances. Gucci acquired his ready-to-wear and cosmetics divisions in 2000. Saint Laurent retired and closed his house in 2002.

Bibliography

See D. Teboul, Yves Saint Laurent: 5, Avenue Marceau, 75116 Paris (2002); A. Drake, The Beautiful Fall: Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris (2006); two documentary films dir. by D. Teboul, one of the same title as his book, the other Yves Saint Laurent: His Life and Times (both: 2003).

There were references to the Rive Gauche ready-to-wear designs of Yves Saint Laurent himself in 1967, which empowered women by putting them in business pantsuits but reborn as seductive uniforms for day or night.

There were nods to signature Yves Saint Laurent designs like the Le Smoking jacket and the tux - which was worked into a very modern sleeveless design - while overtones of the Eighties shone through in the lame cocktail dresses.

Saint Laurent is the fifth feature-length work on the eminent designer, following three documentaries (David Teboul's 2002 diptych Yves Saint Laurent: His Life and Times and Yves Saint Laurent: 5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris and Pierre Thoretton's L'amour fou of 2010) and Jalil Lespert's biopic Yves Saint Laurent, which was released in France just four months before Bonello's film premiered at Cannes last May.

Some of his collections won rave reviews, others sparked controversy, but they never failed to stir conversation, inspire trends, and point to the future and Pierre Niney starred as the fashion designer earlier this year in the movie Yves Saint Laurent.

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